Brownfields 2005

  Grant  Fact Sheet

      Gila River Indian

 Community,  Gila River

Indian Reservation, AZ


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Gila River Indian Community was selected to
receive a brownfields assessment grant. The Gila
River Indian Community (GRIC) is a federally recog-
nized tribe and a Brownfields Showcase Community
located in the Gila River Borderlands area adjacent to
metropolitan Phoenix. The tribal reservation encom-
passes 600 square miles and has 16,000 members of
the Akimel O-odham (Pima) and Pee Posh  (Maricopa)
tribes. Sixty-five percent of GRIC households live
below the poverty level. Although income from casino
operations has alleviated some of the community's
economic problems, unemployment at the GRIC
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the Gila River Indian Commu-
  nity for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant
  funds will be used to survey soil vapor levels,
  sample soil borings, install eight groundwater
  monitoring wells, and validate data characterizing
  the perchlorate contamination at the former Aero
  Dyne Corporation site. Perchlorate was detected
  in both soil and groundwater following the re-
  moval of contaminated soil at the site, which was
  used to test rocket motors and solid rocket fuel.
  Contacts
  For further information, including specific grant
  contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
  news and events, and publications and links, visit
  the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
  brownfields.

  EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
  415-972-3188
  http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
  index.html

  Grant Recipient: Gila River Indian Community,
  AZ
  520-5 62-2234, ext. 225

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
remains six times higher than the state average. More
than 50 percent of tribal adults are diabetic and the
incidence of the disease among the young has been
increasing rapidly. The target property, the former Aero
Dyne Corporation site, is in one of the GRIC's indus-
trial parks. It is potentially contaminated by wastes
such as perchlorate, a chemical that interrupts normal
thyroid function and poses serious threats to children
and pregnant women who may consume perchlorate-
contaminated water. Assessment and cleanup of the
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-05-130
                        May 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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site will help protect residents from the potential health
risks posed by the contamination and remove a barrier
to redevelopment that will increase much-needed
economic opportunities for the Gila River Indian
Community.

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